The City boys have been nattering down in the Tavern today about how far Man City have come since the change in ownership 8 years ago. The barman was keen to point out that success didn’t really arrive until about 5 years ago, and it got all the punters discussing the many different transfers from over the years.

Manchester City has been fully owned by Sheikh Mansour since September 2008, who has brought incredible wealth to the blue side of Manchester.

Since then City fans have seen the most successful period in their history – winning the Premier League and League cup twice, whilst also lifting the FA Cup in 2011.

There are very few City fans in the Tavern who would argue this would have been possible without Mansour’s wealth, with the owner investing millions to make sure the club is one of the most competitive in English football.

However there have been a few hits and misses on the transfer front along the way. Our landlord has pointed out the big money signings of Robinho, Jo and Tal Ben-Haim as particular examples of this.

Money hasn’t always been spent wisely, with those three players sticking out as particularly wasteful.

Over the past 5 years though, City seem to have spent more effectively – which appears to correlate with the amount of trophies that have been won.

After much deliberation; the pints have been put down, and the pens picked up…here is our three man shortlist of City’s most successful signings over the past 5 years. Agreed?

 Sergio Aguero 

This is one man you can guarantee to see on the lists from everyone in the Football Transfer Tavern.

Possibly the best signing in the whole of the Premier League from the past 5 years.

Sergio Aguero arrived in Manchester during the summer of 2011 for around £38 million, which seems like somewhat of a bargain retrospectively.

Unbelievably the Argentinian has scored 105 goals in 152 games in the Premier League, and judging by the first few games of this season – he is showing no signs of slowing down.

Without doubt Manchester City’s greatest signing over the past 5 years, and our landlord thinks he could just possibly be one of the greatest ever!

 Fernandinho 

Without players like Fernandinho, you wouldn’t see the beautiful side of the game that comes from the likes of Silva and De Bruyne.

The Brazilian is truly a model of consistency; a hard tackling player who does the dirty work so other players don’t have to. Capable of getting from box to box, the 30 year old truly has a terrific engine, and is the heart and soul of the team.

Not to mention that he grabs a few goals each season as well, managing an impressive six last year in all competitions.

Purchased for £30 million from Shakhtar in 2013, the defensive midfielder has been ever present in the City starting line up since that point.

Judging by the first couple of games this year it looks likely that will continue over the course of this season.

Our landlord thinks that £30 million is starting to look like a bargain…

 Kevin De Bruyne

The third choice was without a doubt the hardest to make. In the end we have gone with Kevin De Bruyne.

Despite having only had one whole season for the club, the Belgian has already become a bit of a fan favourite amongst the City fans in the Tavern.

Grabbing an impressive 16 goals last year, the Ballon d’Or nominee was one of City’s best players last season;  winning over the crowd very early and scoring 4 goals within a month of his first appearance.

What a player, and our landlord thinks he is only going to get better…